


addicted to love (and you're my supplier)

by kinos



Series: rule #3: the b-sides [2]
Category: Pentagon (Korea Band)
Genre: Drug Use, First Dates, M/M, rule #3 universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-23 09:15:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13784409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinos/pseuds/kinos
Summary: “Tell you what,” he says, digging into his bag to pull out a small bottle, dropping two blue pills onto his palm. “How about I give you this on the house? Since it’s your first time and all.”Anyone else would just say thank you and go, but Hwitaek pauses, asking, “What’s the catch?”E’Dawn grins at that, as if he was hoping Hwitaek would ask, and he isn’t sure what he expects him to say, wondering what he’s about to get himself into.“If I give this to you, and you pass the final,” he starts, moving closer, barely any space left between them. “Then…” His gaze flickers to Hwitaek’s lips, just for a moment, too quick for him to be sure that it was even real. He looks up again. “Let me take you out on a date.”Hwitaek blinks. “That’s it?”“That’s it,” E’Dawn says, smiling sweetly at him, andokay.





	addicted to love (and you're my supplier)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [acid_punk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/acid_punk/gifts).



> the #1 huidawnist... i gotchu sis
> 
> a long time ago, someone commented on rule #3 and asked if i would ever write about huidawn's first date after it was mentioned in one of the chapters, which was what started the idea of writing the bonus chapters and now, like, 5 months later i've finally written it ghjhkjhs also thank you to the person who sent me [this cc](https://curiouscat.me/ao3kino/post/245072731?t=1512030666) and gave me the idea for the date!! also the title is from alone by lund, go give it a listen!! and uhhhhh disclaimer i don't condone drug use in any way !
> 
> okay enough rambling i hope you all enjoy!!!

_Us._

Hwitaek doesn’t think he’s ever felt that. Sure, he’s got his brother and his friends, but it’s different. Hyunggu’s got Wooseok now, Hongseok and Jinho have had each other for years, and Hwitaek’s kind of just… _there._

He doesn’t mind it much, not usually, because he’s always been the independent type, plus it’s not like he has time to bother with dating. Between taking care of Hyunggu on his own now that his parents have finally left the house to just the two of them and constantly trying to maintain his high rank in classes, it’s just not in the picture for him.

Still, there are times when they’re hanging out, all five of them, sometimes seven if Changgu and Yanan decide to join in, and Hwitaek can’t help but feel like a third wheel, or fifth, or seventh, if you wanted to be technical about it. It’s those times that he wishes that maybe, just maybe, he could find someone to call his, to become an ‘us’, just like everyone else.

And it’s not like he hasn’t had any suitors. He likes to think that he’s pretty cute, in a dorky kind of way, and nice too, maybe a bit too nice, and him being the class monitor makes him popular enough to get love confessions from random students every now and again. Yet, there’s been no one that’s piqued his interest, no one that’s made him feel the way he thinks Hyunggu feels about Wooseok, the way Hongseok and Jinho feel about each other, the way Changgu and Yanan swear they don’t feel about anyone. So he figures that maybe he’s just not meant for that.

He shouldn’t be thinking about it much anyway, especially not now with the final exams going on, because he’s got this fucking Chemistry paper tomorrow and he’s barely scratched the surface of his syllabus. It’s not like he purposely pushed the subject aside till the last minute because he hates it and is convinced that it’s the work of the devil, but that’s exactly what he did.

And now he has no idea how he’s going to study all of it in time for the exam, or at least enough to keep up a decent grade. Well, actually…

 _No._ He can’t do that. He just can’t.

Hwitaek wouldn’t call himself innocent, not at all. He’s been to parties, he drinks sometimes, and he knows that around here, people do a lot more than just drink at those parties. He sees the pills they pass around, smells the drugs in the smoky haze, and he never says anything about it. He doesn’t think he has the right to. And he hears the rumours, about this guy, this supplier, the one who deals all the fun stuff, even at school. He doesn’t know who it is, all he knows is a name.

_E’Dawn._

He’s pretty sure that’s not his real name, because who in their right mind would name their child something as silly as that? Still, it’s not like it matters, because it’s not like he’s ever going to meet this E’Dawn guy anyway. Right?

But Hwitaek thinks about his exam, thinks about how he’ll probably fail it, how he can’t afford to fail it, and…

Maybe just once. Just this once. Only because he needs it. Really, really needs it.

It’s a little hard to find this E’Dawn, because it’s not like he could go around asking his classmates where he could find their local drug dealer, and he doubts the guy would be selling his shit out in the open, so he tries listening out for any more gossip, any hint to where he could be but there’s nothing. And the rational bit of him is telling him that he should just give up, that he should stop wasting time and just go study.

But he doesn’t feel like being rational right now, so he calls up this boy he knows, the one who throws all those parties he always goes to.

“Shinwon?”

“Hui-hyung?” he hears through the phone, the younger sounding confused. “Why are you calling me? You’ve never called me before.”

Hwitaek lets out an awkward breath, saying, “I’m sorry, I just- I kinda need your help.”

That seems to get Shinwon’s attention, the boy sounding a lot more interested now. “What kind of help?”

“You know that dealer? The one who brings all your… _party favours?_ ” he says carefully, keeping an eye out to make sure no one’s listening to him.

“Dawnie?”

“Yeah, that guy.” Hwitaek clears his throat, lowers his voice. “You have any idea where I can find him?”

At first, he worries what Shinwon will think of him, calling him up in the middle of school to ask about drugs, but well, Shinwon’s never really been the type to judge someone for those kinds of things, not when he’s just as bad.

He hears the younger blow out a long breath, a thoughtful hum thrumming through the line. “I hear he’s got this hideout at school where he runs his business, somewhere behind some old storage rooms or something like that. But I mean, it’s not like I go there, so I wouldn’t know for sure.”

Shinwon’s a year younger than him, the same as Changgu and Yanan, the three of them still only in their final year of middle school, so Hwitaek wouldn’t expect him to know his way around the high school just yet, but he thinks he knows what he’s talking about.

“Got it, thanks, Shin-”

“Hyung?”

“Yeah?”

It’s silent for a moment, like Shinwon is wondering whether or not he should speak, and his voice is hesitant when he says, “You’re not gonna, like, rat him out or anything, right? He’d kill me if he found out I’m the one who told you where he is.”

“No,” he’s quick to say, shaking his head even though Shinwon can’t see him. “No, of course not. Don’t worry about it.”

Shinwon seems skeptical, but he takes Hwitaek’s word for it, wishing him goodbye before he hangs up. And Hwitaek does know where this supposed hideout could be, he knows of those abandoned storage rooms, the ones the school uses to keep old furniture and whatnot. He’s never been to that side of the school, simply because he never had a reason to, but he supposes now he does.

So he goes when he’s got a free period in between classes, ducking out of his class and keeping his head low during the entire walk over, trying his best not to be seen by anyone who could recognise him. And when he gets there, he does find this little hideout that Shinwon spoke of, a small space that could fit two, maybe three people, but there’s no one there. He sighs. Maybe it’s just not his lu-

“Looking for someone?”

A boy swings himself out from underneath the scaffolds, his hair a platinum blonde and Hwitaek wonders how he could’ve possibly missed him.

“E’Dawn?” Hwitaek asks, looking him over carefully, his shirt untucked, tie loose around his neck, blazer nowhere to be seen. “Is that you?”

He gives Hwitaek a curt nod, taking slow steps towards him, one foot right in front of the other like he’s walking a tightrope. “Yeah, that’s me.” He stops right in front of Hwitaek, leaning forward, and for a moment, it almost seems like he’s about to kiss him or something, but then he just peers at his name tag, reading out, “Lee. Hwi. Taek.” And Hwitaek feels embarrassed for even thinking what he had thought.

“Hui, please,” he insists, flashing a tight smile. Only his parents call him Hwitaek. And Hyunggu when he’s being a little shit.

E’Dawn nods again, taking a step back, and he asks, “What can I do for you, Hui-ssi?”

Hwitaek’s tongue darts out nervously, his voice growing small when he starts to say, “Um, well, I hear that you’re a…”

“Dealer?” He looks amused at how Hwitaek is unwilling to say it, eyebrows rising, the corners of his mouth lifting. “Yeah, so? You here to tell on me?”

“No!” Hwitaek shakes his head too hard. “Not at all, I just-” His face starts to heat up, gaze falling out of shame. “I need… _something._ ”

That seems to intrigue the boy, moving forward again, tilting his head down to look at Hwitaek. “What, you having a party?” His smile twists into something wicked, almost wolfish. “Or you just wanna have a little fun on your own?”

Hwitaek’s head whips up at the accusation, almost offended, his lips parting in a gasp. “No, I- I just need something to help me cram for my Chemistry final.”

A beat of silence. Then, “You’re kidding.”

Hwitaek gives him a pointed look, one that says he’s being serious, and once E’Dawn realises that he is, in fact, not kidding, he bursts out into laughter, right in his face, so loud that Hwitaek worries someone might hear him, his cheeks burning even more now.

“You know what, never mind-”

“No, wait-” E’Dawn grabs his arm before he can go, tugging him back, his laughter fading away, and even when it’s clear that Hwitaek isn’t going anywhere, he keeps his hand on him, fingertips pressing into him. He quirks a smile, no heat behind it now. “Chemistry, huh? That’s hot.”

Hwitaek blushes again, for a completely different reason now, and he doesn’t know why he doesn’t just pull his arm away, why he continues to let E’Dawn hold it. His voice comes out shy, stuttered when he speaks, “T-The exam is tomorrow, and I really, really need something to help me study. I- I can’t fail this. Please.”

Something in E’Dawn’s features seem to soften at that, his grip loosening just slightly, but still, he doesn’t let go. Then he says, “You know, that’s the first time anyone’s ever said ‘please’ to me.”

Before Hwitaek can say anything, E’Dawn clears his throat, drops his arm, looks away. “Tell you what,” he says, digging into his bag to pull out a small bottle, dropping two blue pills onto his palm. “How about I give you this on the house? Since it’s your first time and all.”

Anyone else would just say thank you and go, but Hwitaek pauses, asking, “What’s the catch?”

E’Dawn grins at that, as if he was hoping Hwitaek would ask, and he isn’t sure what he expects him to say, wondering what he’s about to get himself into.

“If I give this to you, and you pass the final,” he starts, moving closer, barely any space left between them. “Then…” His gaze flickers to Hwitaek’s lips, just for a moment, too quick for him to be sure that it was even real. He looks up again. “Let me take you out on a date.”

Hwitaek blinks. “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” E’Dawn says, smiling sweetly at him, and _okay._

He nods an agreement, holding out his hand for the pills, then- “But wait, how do I-”

That gets a laugh out of the boy, just a soft one, sounding almost endeared. “Take one before you study,” he says as he presses a pill into his open palm. “It takes about half an hour to kick in, lasts for maybe four hours, so don’t waste it. Don’t get caught up in the high. Just use it to really focus on your work, got it?”

Hwitaek nods in understanding, mentally taking note of his instructions.

He drops the second pill onto his hand. “Take this one before your exam. It’ll help you remember what you learned.” He closes Hwitaek’s fingers around the drugs, lingering on his hand just a bit longer than he has to. “And if you feel anything off about it, just-” He reaches into Hwitaek’s pocket, pulling out his phone and punching in his number before he can even stop him. He slips the phone back into his pocket, patting it gently. “Give me a call, okay?”

And standing there, with pills in his hand, a dealer’s number in his phone, a date waiting for him at the end of this, all Hwitaek can do is say, “Okay.”

—

Hwitaek doesn’t feel it at first. Sure, the guy had said that it would take half an hour to start working, but he’s pretty sure it’s been longer than that, and still, nothing. Maybe he’s immune. Maybe he’d been scammed.

Then, just as the thought crosses his mind, he feels it. It isn’t as strong as he would’ve thought, not like what he sees with drugs on tv, but then again, it’s nothing that heavy anyway. From the looks of it, it’s just a minimum dosage, which is probably best for someone who’s taking it for the first time. Hwitaek appreciates that. And now that it’s settled into his veins, working its way up to his head, he feels that push, that drive to just _do something,_ and before he gets distracted, he sits himself in front of his books, pens splayed out across the table, ready to go.

But he feels this itch, just a small tingle in the back of his head, and before he knows it, he’s got his phone in his hand, his screen lit up with a name that he’s never even heard before, a name that wasn’t there before today.

_Hyojong._

He clicks on the number underneath it, chewing on his bottom lip as he hears the dial tone, then-

“Hello?”

It’s him. E’Dawn. Hyojong. Hwitaek knows his voice by now. He’s never heard anyone with a voice like his.

“Why…” His focus begins to falter, head shaking to keep himself in the moment, eyes blinking fast. “Why do you call yourself E’Dawn? Hyojong is a much nicer name.”

Hwitaek thinks he hears Hyojong smile. He doesn’t know how he hears it, but he does.

“Study, Hwitaek,” he says, and it sounds like he’s fading. “You need to pass if you wanna go on that date with me, remember?”

“Right…” He hangs up, the phone slipping from his hand, clattering onto the table, and _fuck._

Hwitaek definitely feels it now.

—

By some miracle, Hwitaek not only passes the exam, he _aces_ it, he even does better than Hongseok and his friend mutters something unintelligible under his breath that Hwitaek can only laugh at.

His joy is short lived though, because his achievement reminds him of something, of someone, and he can’t help but feel nerves rise in him at the thought of him. And they’re not exactly _bad_ nerves, if anything, he thinks he’s nervous in a good way. See, after that little encounter, Hwitaek found himself constantly keeping an eye out for Hyojong, feeling an odd flutter of hope in his chest every time he catches a glimpse of a blonde head, only to be disappointed when he’s met with faces that are definitely not his.

And okay, maybe he’s being stupid about this, maybe Hyojong had just made up the whole date thing to make a fool out of him, but Hwitaek feels this weird need to actually take him up on the offer. So he finds his way back to that spot of his, finding him easily now that he knows where he hides himself, and he holds up his result slip, proud almost, a wide grin stretching across his face.

Hyojong scans the paper before he matches his smile, and there’s a glint in his eye that Hwitaek can’t quite read. And he says, “I guess I owe you a date now, huh?”

—

Hyunggu isn’t too happy when he hears about the date, a sour look on his face the entire time that Hwitaek gets ready, going back and forth between something casual and something fancy, wondering where exactly Hyojong is taking him.

“You don’t even know this guy,” is what his brother says, then- “No, the other one looks better on you.”

“He’s in my year,” Hwitaek shoots back, shrugging out of the sweater he’s wearing to put on the one that Hyunggu passes to him. “And his name is Hyojong.”

“And he gave you drugs,” Hyunggu points out, disapproval clear in his tone.

Hwitaek gives him a shameless smile when he says, “Well, they worked, didn’t they?”

“ _Hyung-_ ”

He sighs before Hyunggu can go into a lecture, catching his face in his hands, leaning down to say, “It’ll be fine, kiddo. It’s just a date. It’s not like I’m marrying him.” He smiles when Hyunggu rolls his eyes, squeezing his face once. “Don’t worry about me, okay? It’s my job to do all the worrying.”

He straightens up, running a hand through his hair before he tugs on Hyunggu’s arm. “Now come on. Hongseok and Jinho are probably downstairs already.”

“I’m fifteen,” Hyunggu grumbles as he trudges behind his brother. “I don’t need babysitters.”

Hwitaek lets out a small chuckle at that, and he knows that Hyunggu’s probably grown up enough to hate being babied like this, but he just says, “I’d feel a lot better if the hyungs stayed with you, Hyunggu-ya. You know I’m not used to leaving you on your own yet.”

Hyunggu just gives a dismissive grunt, but he doesn’t fight back anymore, shuffling over to where Hongseok and Jinho are waiting in the living room, pretending to groan when they cling onto him, singing out, “We’re gonna have fun tonight, Guguuuuu!”

They hear a knock on the door then, and Hwitaek takes a few deep breaths before he opens it, a smile spreading on his face as soon as he sees Hyojong standing there, hands buried in his pockets.

“Hi,” Hwitaek says, and as much as he wants to say he doesn’t sound breathless, he definitely is.

“Hey,” Hyojong says back before he looks past him at the other three, holding up a hand in hello, sending them a flashy grin. “I’ll have him back by two…” He trails off when Hyunggu glowers at him, that smile of his faltering just a bit. “Twelve.” Hyunggu narrows his eyes. Hyojong gulps. “T-Ten?”

“Hyunggu…” Hwitaek warns, giving him a sharp look and his little brother makes a face at him in return, but he stops glaring at Hyojong like he’s about to bite his head off, and Hwitaek turns back to offer Hyojong an apologetic look. “Sorry about that.”

Hyojong waves him off. “It’s okay. He’s… _sweet._ ” Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Hyunggu lift a hand at that like he wants to hit him, so Hyojong quickly hooks his arm around Hwitaek’s elbow, asking, “You ready?”

He nods, and Hyojong beams at him. “It’s gonna be the best night of your life.”

Hwitaek doesn’t know why, but he believes him.

—

Hyojong takes him to this restaurant that’s a lot fancier than he expected, the two of them sitting across each other in awkward silence, gazes sheepish, fingers twiddling in their laps like they don’t know how to act. And really, they don’t. Neither of them have had the luxury of coming to places like this, feeling uncomfortable in the heaviness of it all, like the people around them are expecting things from them. Hwitaek doesn’t like it.

“So…” Hyojong starts, peering at him from behind the menu that’s far too large for him to hold.

“So…” Hwitaek echoes, unsure what to say, squirming in his seat.

Then Hyojong cocks an eyebrow, mischief twinkling in eyes, and he asks, “Wanna get out of here?”

Hwitaek has never said yes to anything quicker in his entire life.

Hyojong takes a look around, as though scoping out the place, then he grabs Hwitaek’s hand and pulls him along as he runs right out of the place. He barely avoids a waiter carrying a tray of drinks, whooping loudly as they rush past the guy by the door, cackling when he yells at them.

They’re a mess of exhilarated giggles and laced fingers once they get far enough, the both of them bending over to catch their breaths, but neither of them let go of each other’s hands, still locked tight between them.

“Come on,” Hyojong says, grinning over at him, tugging on his hand. “Let’s have some real fun.”

They get some food from this nice lady’s stall, sharing a bottle of Cola as they walk along the narrow streets of their town, hands still joined. And Hwitaek’s lived here his whole life, but he doesn’t think he’s been to this side of town, the roads growing more and more unfamiliar the further they go.

So, he isn’t sure where Hyojong’s leading him, but he’s more than happy to just go along with it, because he kinda likes holding Hyojong’s hand. It’s a little bit bigger than his own and his fingers are definitely skinnier, but his grip is tight, strong, like he doesn’t want to let Hwitaek go. It’s nice, he thinks. Really nice.

“Here we are!” Hyojong announces, stretching his arm out at the place, which looks like a rundown skatepark, one that Hwitaek hadn’t even known existed before now.

“Cool, right?” he says when he hears Hwitaek let out a, “Whoa…” and the latter nods, genuinely in awe.

There’s nothing really special about it, the old paint on the concrete ramps already flaking and faded, just barely enough functioning street lamps to keep the surroundings dim at the most. But as Hwitaek watches Hyojong duck under the small hole in the barbed fence, slipping in so easily, like this was his place and his alone, he can’t help but feel like it is special.

It makes Hwitaek feel like _he’s_ special. Special enough for Hyojong to share this place with him.

Hyojong disappears for a moment, returning with a skateboard tucked under his arm, the underside decorated with art in bright blues and dark reds, the name ‘Dawnie’ written out in black right across it.

“Is that yours?” Hwitaek asks when Hyojong sets it down, and he nods a yes, placing a foot on it.

“I designed it myself,” is his answer, sounding quite proud of himself. Then, more bitter, he adds, “I can’t keep it at home because my dad thinks skating is stupid. I didn’t think he hated it that much, but then he broke the last board I had in half so…”

Hwitaek winces at that, saying, “I’m sorry. He sounds like a jerk.” Then- “I- I mean, not a _jerk_ jerk, just-”

That gets a laugh from the boy, his head shaking at him. “No, it’s okay,” he says. “He is a jerk. A huge jerk.”

Before Hwitaek can ask more about what he means by that, Hyojong reaches for his hand, saying, “Here, let me teach you how to ride this thing.”

“M- Me?” Hwitaek lets himself be pulled along by him, heading towards the flatter side of the park, no bumps or ramps to make things difficult. “I don’t think I’d be any good-”

Hyojong clicks his tongue at that, saying, “Nah, you’ll be fine. It’s easy.” Then, glancing back over his shoulder, he smirks at him, eyebrows quirking. “And don’t worry. If you fall, I’ll catch you.”

That makes Hwitaek just a bit flustered, barely managing a shaky smile in return and his hands are sweaty by the time Hyojong takes them in his, steadying him as he stands on the board, wobbling just a little.

“Okay, you’ve got one foot in the front,” Hyojong starts saying, still holding onto him. “Then you use the other foot to push yourself forward. Once you’ve got yourself moving, you put that foot back onto the board behind the first foot, and just go.”

“Just go,” Hwitaek repeats, nodding along to his words, taking in a few long breaths.

It takes him a while to even balance himself on the board without Hyojong holding him, and even longer for him to push himself forward for longer than a couple of seconds, his motions coming out like stutters, making Hyojong laugh whenever he gets stuck.

“You’re being hesitant,” Hyojong tells him from where he’s standing on the other side of the narrow space. “Just take one long push and it’ll go smoothly, I swear.” He holds his arms out, grinning wide. “I’ll be waiting right here, Hwitaekie.”

Hwitaek feels his heart race at that, and he tells himself it’s just the nerves from being on the skateboard, but he knows it’s not. Seeing Hyojong standing there, waiting for him with open arms, he knows it’s a lot more than that. And it’s silly, isn’t it? How quickly he had fallen for someone he barely even knows, how much he’s dying to know more about him, to figure him out.

And he wonders if this is it, if he’s finally feeling what his brother feels, what his friends feel. He wonders if this is finally the ‘us’ that he’s been looking for.

He wonders, and he feels his eyes shut, feels his foot push off the ground, feels himself fly forward, and he’s going and going and going and-

Hwitaek crashes right into Hyojong, the board slipping out from right under him, skidding away and his arms instinctively wrap around Hyojong as the two of them fall to the ground in a heap, landing on the concrete with a loud, “Oof!”

Hyojong groans when his back hits the floor, eyes squeezed shut until he cracks them open to look up at Hwitaek, their faces so close that they can feel each other’s breath on their skin, chests pressed up against the other’s and Hwitaek swears that Hyojong’s heart is beating just as fast as his.

His hand wiggles out from under Hyojong to brush away a strand of hair from the boy’s pretty face, a stupid smile pulling at his own mouth when he says, “So much for catching me, huh?”

Hyojong kisses him then, head tilting up to meet his lips, a hand latching onto the back of his neck to pull him down, then-

“I’m sorry,” he says, gasping, pulling away. “Was that too soon? I-”

Hwitaek cuts him off with a kiss of his own, both hands on his face now to bring him closer, tasting Cola on his tongue and it makes him smile. He thinks he feels Hyojong smile too. Hyojong pushes them up so they’re sitting, Hwitaek in his lap, his arms tightening around his waist, Hwitaek’s legs locking behind his back. He’s never done this with anyone before, he’s been kissed, sure, but never to this extent, never really letting himself get any further than a peck or two. But somehow, Hyojong makes it feel comfortable, easy, like they just… _fit._ Like before this, Hwitaek was only half of a whole, and now, he’s finally found that missing piece.

“I’ll catch you next time,” Hyojong says once they’ve pulled apart to let themselves breathe, murmuring the words against Hwitaek’s lips, eyelids fluttering open to look at him.

“Next time?”

Hyojong smiles, soft, barely there. “If you’ll let me.”

Hwitaek feels himself start to smile back, but he bites it down, just a hint of teasing in his tone when he says, “Do I have to pass another Chemistry exam to make it happen?”

That makes Hyojong laugh, loud and full, the boy throwing his head back in glee, and his hands come up to rest against Hwitaek’s neck, thumbs running along his jaw. “No,” he says, before he leans in to kiss him once more, slow, steady. “You’ve already won yourself a lifetime of dates.”

“A whole lifetime, huh?” Hwitaek laughs along, stealing one last kiss, grinning at him. “Sounds good.”

They’re a little tired after that, the both of them deciding to lay down on the cool concrete, their hands joined between them, heads leaned against the other’s. And it’s quiet, too quiet, until Hwitaek hears Hyojong say, “Can I ask you something?”

He nods.

“Did you really need to pass the exam that badly?” is his question, his head turning towards Hwitaek. “I mean, to the point that you’d come to me for help.”

When he thinks about it, really thinks about it, Hwitaek does suppose it was a rather drastic measure, one that he wouldn’t have needed if he’d just studied in the first place. Still, he thinks there’s no point in regrets, because what’s done is done, he passed the exam and all of it led to this date, so…

“My parents don’t live with me anymore,” Hwitaek tells him, keeping his head still, eyes on the sky. “They left the house to me and my brother, trusted me to take care of the both of us. And I was worried that if I failed, they would think that I couldn’t handle it, that I needed them to come back.” He turns to face Hyojong. “I don’t want them to come back. Hyunggu doesn’t want them to come back either.”

If Hyojong thinks anything of it, he doesn’t say it, his mouth pressed into a thin line as he processes Hwitaek’s words, understanding them. Then he says, “Okay,” and that’s that.

They fall into silence again, hands locked tighter now, huddling closer for warmth. And again, it’s Hyojong who speaks, this time asking, “Can you promise me something?”

Again, he nods.

“Promise me you won’t take those pills anymore,” Hyojong says to him, his voice small, but firm, sure of his words. “Or anything else. For studying, for fun, anything, just… _Don’t._ I don’t want you to get used to this shit.”

Hwitaek hadn’t planned to ever take those things again, because as helpful as they were, he doesn’t think it’s worth the risk. So he nods once more, saying, “I promise.”

“Good,” Hyojong breathes out, relief in his sigh. He cracks a half-hearted smile, his eyes clouding over when he mutters, “It’s bad enough that one of us is stuck in this mess.”

Hwitaek must’ve gone still, because Hyojong’s face falls, worry tainting his voice as he says, “W-What? Was it something I said? Did I-”

“ _Us,_ ” Hwitaek says then. “You said ‘us’.” He knows it isn’t a big deal, that he probably didn’t mean it in the way that Hwitaek thinks he means it, the way he wants him to mean it, but it’s still an ‘us’. They’re an ‘us’ now.

He squeezes Hyojong’s hand in his, tight, strong, like he doesn’t want to let him go, and he says, “I like that.”

Hyojong brings Hwitaek’s hand up to his lips, pressing a small kiss to his skin. “I like that too.”

_Us._

Hwitaek feels it now, he really does, and he never wants to feel anything else.

**Author's Note:**

> oh and if anyone was wondering, that was the promise that hyojong thought hui broke in the last chapter of rule #3 heh
> 
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> 
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